


Interrupted Dates And Gentle Kisses

by Corvid_Knight



Series: Integrated Worlds [7]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: (and second dates lmao), First Dates, Injury, M/M, integrated worlds, lusus death (as in dualscar killed one), soft stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25107988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corvid_Knight/pseuds/Corvid_Knight
Summary: The sand's the wrong color, the gulls that skim along the water's edge have teeth in their beaks, there's none of the shells you might recognize from when you were ten and had a decent collection...but hey, if you close your eyes at least it sounds the same, and Dualscar's arm around your shoulders pretty much makes up for the rest. Leaning into himmorethan makes up for it, actually. He's like a head taller than you, and going by the muscles you feel through his thin white shirt he coulddefinitelypick you up like a pillow...mmm. Yeah, that's the shit you like.D and Dualscar have a rough few first dates.
Relationships: Dirk's Bro | Alpha Dave Strider/Orphaner Dualscar
Series: Integrated Worlds [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/999555
Comments: 8
Kudos: 54





	Interrupted Dates And Gentle Kisses

**Author's Note:**

> Day 1 of [Rarepairstuck 2020!](https://rarepair-stuck.tumblr.com)

The first date is...well, it's memorable. For the wrong reasons, though—you left Hal and Dirk with Summoner because he's good with kids, he's _really_ good with kids and animals and all that shit, and Dolorosa's not available and it'll be fine and of course it's not fine, actually. Of course it's not. And of course you get the first in the strong of urgent texts informing you that Dirk's managed to give himself a hospital-worthy injury and Hal's upset enough to bite a noticeable mark into Summ's arm right as Dualscar orders his meal from the waiter at the fancy-ass place he picked.

His eyes go wide and alarmed when you tell him what's up, though (god they're pretty, deep violet showing up just fuckin' amazingly against the yellow of his sclera, like a photographer's wet dream) and he offers to take you to meet Summ. At this point, though, you're upset and worried and still somehow cognizant of the fact that shame about ruining the date and your chances with him _will_ set in and it _will_ do it fast, so you just smile as well as you can and reassure him that you're fine, you can drive, it'll be fine. It's fine.

And yeah, Dirk's just fine in the end. Apparently trolls don't bleed as badly from head injuries as humans do; Summoner just wasn't expecting quite that much blood from the little cut on Dirk's forehead, and Hal mirrored both his sibling's distress and the adult's. Everything's fine, you just fucked shit up.

Dualscar asks about another date as soon as you text him to tell him the kids are fine, though, so maybe it's not as fucked as you thought.

* * *

The second date's not really any more romantic, even if you get a couple great opportunities to lust over him. Dolorosa has the kids this time, his and yours both, and you know she can handle any emergency that might arise. This time it really _will_ be fine. He lets you pick the venue, and you go with what's most like home—beachside, in the area that's been marked as safe for human exploration.

It's not...exactly like Texas. The sand's the wrong color, the gulls that skim along the water's edge have teeth in their beaks, there's none of the shells you might recognize from when you were ten and had a decent collection...but hey, if you close your eyes at least it sounds the same, and Dualscar's arm around your shoulders pretty much makes up for the rest. Leaning into him _more_ than makes up for it, actually. He's like a head taller than you, and going by the muscles you feel through his thin white shirt he could _definitely_ pick you up like a pillow...mmm. Yeah, that's the shit you like. Thats—

This close to him, you can actually feel him go stiff. It's a cue to open your eyes and look up at him as he comes to an abrupt stop.

God he's pretty. Even with the look of concern on his face, he's pretty—you're instantly distracted by the way his pupils expand even as you watch, the delicate fins of his ears flaring so you catch a flash of lavender in the instant before they flatten down again. It's probably not a good sign, but you're still absolutely fucking captivated by the motion. "Uh, Dualscar?"

"Look." He nods at a mottled patch of sand a few feet away—you sort of assumed that was just weird coloration, but now that you look? It's not just darker but clumped together, wet with something that you think would be some shade way up on the purple/pink end of the spectrum. "That's—"

"Blood." Not a lot else that'd have him this wary. "You think somebody's hurt out here?"

"Sort of." Dualscar takes a step back from you, scanning the beach as you stand very still and wonder why the _fuck_ you thought it was okay to not bring a weapon on this date. Like, that's allowed here, that's _encouraged_ here, you're just an idiot. "A troll vwould be dead on the ground vwith that much blood—either there's an injured lusus, or a vwild lusus that dragged the body off..."

"Ah, shit." You don't like either of those options. "Wait—wouldn't that color of blood be something aquatic?"

Dualscar glances at you. You see his eyes go wide right before he snaps out, " _Dowwn_!" and you drop without even thinking of it.

Huh. Alternian sand tastes different from Earth sand. Less salty. Who knew?

You spit out the mouthful and raise your head.

Dualscar's at the very edge of the water, maybe knee-deep. You're not totally sure what's in there with him—something big, obviously. Something with, uh...tentacles. You think that's a tentacle, anyway—somehow you never thought of a tentacle as being that _sharp_. His shirt's ripped in two places you can see, stained with purple across the collar and the sleeve.

Fuck. _Fuck_. Why the fuck didn't you bring some kind of weapon?

Then again, you probably couldn't do anything even if you had one; Dualscar bares his teeth and snaps at the tentacle-thing when it gets too close to his face, wrenching free when it recoils. You almost expect him to retreat, but instead he sidesteps the next darting attack and...well, dives in, in a smooth moment that takes your breath away.

The water's too cloudy for you to tell exactly what happens, other than a lot of splashing. It mostly stops after a second, and you bite your lip as you push yourself up off the damp sand. If there's no more movement...

But there is—the lesser movement of Dualscar breaking the surface, maybe ten feet out, shaking his head hard enough to fling droplets in an arc and swimming for the shallows again. Well, at least he's not dead.

God fucking dammit he's bleeding. He's bleeding and he's dripping and like all white shirts on any planet this one's gone nearly transparent where it's not ripped and you just...you're worried, yeah, but he looks like he walked off the cover of a really cheesy romance novel and you're honestly so fucking ready to play the lead in the movie adaptation.

But no. Not right now. He's _bleeding_.

"Fuck, you're bleeding." Very insightful, D.

Not that Dualscar seems to notice. He just shakes his head, trying to smooth his hair back into place. "Eh, it's fine. Vwe can patch it up in a second—I need to call someone."

"Yeah, no shit you do—what was, uh—" Gesturing at the water probably isn't necessary. You do it anyway. "...that?"

"Kraken." Dualscar looks up from his phone (which is obviously a hell of a lot more waterproof than yours; god but you love biotech) just long enough to give you a rueful smile. "You might vwant to leavve noww, actually—I'm about to havve to fill out so much paperwwork. Usually vwe don't kill them."

"So it's not a lusus, then?"

"No, it is. They're rare and caste-specific, is all—only seadwwellers. _Usually_ they stay deep enough that vwe don't worry about them attacking land trolls, but if they're injured..." He shrugs, earfins drooping slightly as he frowns down at his phone. "Vwell. It's a lot of paperwwork, evwen for a little one."

"...that was a little one?"

"Oh, yeah. If it vwas full growwn I vwould havve just told you to run, trust me. It takes a full team to handle an adult kraken."

"Damn."

"Uh-huh. Go on home, D. I'll text you vwhen I get done here."

"You sure?"

Dualscar nods and flaps one hand at you. "I'm sure. No sense in havving you sit here for a couple hours, right?"

"...yeah, fair." You want to kiss him. God, you want to at least try to kiss him, you actually hesitate...but in the end, you just nod and turn away and head back along the trail of footprints in the sand you left coming out here.

Stupid fucking idiot.

* * *

TG: hey you should come over  
TG: the kids are about to pass out so im low-key stuck here for a couple hours and id love to have someone to watch a movie with

RO: I mean. I'd havve to bring the kids with me.

TG: hey dirk n hal can always use a couple more in the cuddle pile  
TG: im not asking for a date dude, just some company

RO. Vwell in that case? I'll be ovver in ten minutes.

TG: lit, see you then

You're grinning at your phone like an idiot. It's not a date, no, but there's still, like. A good feeling, having him be this easy to bring over.

It's not a date. This isn't a date. Hell, you don't even know if he's up for any more dates, after the last two.

Then again, you can always hope. You drop your phone on the table and head into the living room to check on how the kids are progressing on their work at arranging all the blankets they can find into a nest...and maybe to help them add a few more, since Eridan and Cronus will need to fit there too.

...at least, you assume it'll be Eridan and Cronus. You're half right, anyway—when you let Dualscar in he's got Cronus trailing behind him, earning a delighted squeal from Dirk—but also half not-right, because instead of Eridan Dualscar has a tiny troll with arrow-ended horns and straight hair pulled back into a ponytail that's amazingly neat for someone roughly your kids' age, and a giggling girl who seems to be about sixty percent curly hair with curling ram's horns just barely poking out of it.

Well, you recognize one of those. "Heya, Equius. C'mere?"

He nods and lets go of Dualscar's shoulder, leaning to reach for you as you hold out your arms. From the way Dualscar sighs in relief, he might have been holding a bit too tight, but he's gentle with you, at least.

"You already knoww Equius?" Dualscar shifts the kid he's still holding to his other arm, rubbing at the spot Equius was gripping.

"Yeah, his dad helped out with Hal when I got here."

"Ah. Darkleer's my kismesis's matesprit." He grins and holds up the fluffy little sheep-horned troll, both hands under her arms to let her dangle in front of himself as she giggles and kicks her legs. "And Aradia's mother is _his_ kismesis. Vwe decided I might as vwell take both of them, if I vwas taking one."

"Who's got Eridan, though?"

"Uh." Dualscar blinks, setting Aradia down on the floor; she instantly dashes off, diving headfirst into the blanket pile and earning a startled squawk from Hal. "Vwhat day is it...Psii, I think? Unless he's already sent Kankri back to Sign—then Dis has him. He'll be back by tonight, anywway."

"Huh. Neat." You're still not used to how trolls pass kids around inside the intricate networks of their relationships, or where you fit in with this specific clade. That you've been adopted isn't really a question, you just...need to get around to figuring out exactly what that means. Right now, though, you just pat Equius's head to get his attention. "You cool with getting down?"

Once he nods, you set him down more gently than Dualscar did with Aradia, then turn your attention back to the adult troll. "So...movie? My sis sent me some stuff from Earth."

"Ooh." Again, the movement of his earfins perking up draws your attention more than anything should. Fascinating. "Sounds fun."

Okay, cool. For some reason you were worried about the choice of movie. Idiot. Calm down.

By the time you get the disc into the player and resolve the several squabbles that flare up between Hal and Dirk, the troll kids are asleep, yours are well on their way to being there, and Dualscar...well, he's lounging on the couch you got from the thrift store for what felt like way less than it's worth, absorbed in the liner notes for the Jurassic Park knockoff Roxanne found who knows where. You look up from where you're kneeling on the floor and just...forget what you're doing, a lil' bit, for way too long.

Long enough that he looks up and meets your eyes and _smiles_ , and you _know_ you go bright red. "See something you like?"

"Yeah, no shit I do." Deep breaths, even if your face feels like it's on fire. You move up and settle next to him, grabbing the remote and hitting play. "Why, you want me to quit staring?"

The laugh that rumbles through his chest is deeper than his voice, deep enough that you feel more than hear it. "Vwere the last couple dates bad enough that you really think that?"

You have to laugh, too. "Something like that. But like, we're still trying, then?"

"Vwhy vwouldn't vwe be?" Dualscar raises an eyebrow and shifts to tug at your shoulder; it takes you a second to process what he wants. What he wants is you on his lap, and you can _definitely_ do that, especially since it means you feel the next quiet laugh even better, now that you're face to face with him with your hands on his chest. "Don't tell me you're already bored."

"God no." Fuck fuck _fuck_ he's pretty! You haven't been this close before, you've never gotten this good of a look at his face, the darker scars across his smooth skin...you're half afraid that he'll push you away, but you reach up to brush your fingertips against his cheek anyway. "Lil' frustrated that it's so hard to get anywhere, if anything."

"Oh." Instead of pushing you back or turning his head away from your hand, Dualscar leans into it, eyes going half-closed. "I guess vwe are going a bit slowwer than normal."

"Just because things keep getting in the way." But there's nothing in the way now. Nothing but maybe a foot. Less than a foot of empty space. "Hey, Dualscar?"

"Mmm?"

"Wanna kiss?"

His eyes open at that, fixing on you for an instant before he grins, bright and wide enough to show sharp white teeth. "Hell yes I vwant one."

"Oh, good." You guess sometimes it really is that easy. As easy as inviting him over, as easy as asking and wrapping your arms around his neck and leaning in and just...

Kissing him. Losing yourself for a second in how different it is from any other kiss you've had—he's cooler than a human, teeth sharper, the edge of his gills fluttering against where your arm lays against his neck—and how familiar it is anyway. Yeah, okay, maybe the wait was worth it.

You still have to pull back after a second, feeling a grin spread across your face at the look on his. "Good?"

"Vvery." Dualscar chuckles and leans in for another kiss, this one just a quick, soft contact instead of the deep involvement of the first one. "Vwe'll have to do it again vwhen it's not my turn to havve the little ones."

Ooh, good point. Like they're asleep, but still. You kiss him one more time, then shift around in his lap to get in a position that's suitable for long-term comfort, nodding at the TV. "Hell yeah we will...but right now, let's just focus on the cuddle date."


End file.
